Skip to main content

NewFolks may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Looking for a puberty book for your tween that’s gender-inclusive? We’ve got 4

4 amazing gender-inclusive books about puberty for your tween

Since the classic The Care & Keeping of You, books explaining the changes of puberty tweens can expect have been essential for parents to gift their children. Reading a book in privacy that answers all of the questions about things like sprouting pubic hair is more comfortable than getting a lecture from your parent! There are dozens of pages of information to cover on healthy relationships, how hormones work, acne, body odor, voice dropping, menstruation, and cliques, so books like the four we’ve curated below will get all of the information across so your child can come to you with questions but you don’t need to have every single talk with them.

These books often use highly gendered language like saying only girls have a uterus or girls only get crushes on boys or that there are only two genders. The four books below reject all of those concepts and all youth will feel welcomed and affirmed reading them with illustrations and language that are LGBTQ-inclusive. Read more about why these four puberty books are informational and inclusive, making them excellent options for your tween.

Related Videos

Puberty Is Gross, but Also Really Awesome by Gina Loveless and Lauri Johnston

As the title hints, the tone of this book tackles puberty with humor and a teen-friendly tone. Delivering fun facts in a lighthearted voice, the book covers everything from acne, sweat, genitalia, self-confidence, sleep, nutrition, menstruation, mental health, social media, dating, and much more. It doesn’t cover sex except for a couple of passing mentions.

The language is very inclusive of all genders and uses “assigned male” and “assigned female” instead of “male” and “female” when discussing bodies. There is also a full chapter dedicated to gender expression.

The Every Body Book: The LGBTQ+ Inclusive Guide for Kids about Sex, Gender, Bodies, and Families by Rachel E. Simon and Noah Grigni

For readers ages eight to 12, this book covers sex, gender, bodies, and families in an LGBTQ-inclusive way just like the subtitle promises. Reproduction, hormones, and consent are all covered in gender-neutral language that celebrates all sexual identities and gender identities. Melissa Carnagey, founder of Sex Positive Families, says The Every Body Book is “inclusive, medically accurate, gender-affirming, body positive, and comprehensive in its delivery of the education young people need to understand bodies, identities, relationships, and sexual health” and adds that “it delivers information using a tone that invites young people’s curiosities and normalizes their unique experiences.”

You Know, Sex: Bodies, Gender, Puberty, and Other Things by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth

The third in a trilogy after What Makes A Baby for ages three to seven and Sex Is A Funny Word for ages seven to 10, comes You Know, Sex for ages 10 to 14. While the title implies this is a sex-ed book more than a puberty book, there is plenty of important information about changing bodies in here for parents looking for a two-in-one option that uses gender-inclusive language. This book is less about body odor and sprouting hair and more about consent, boundaries, stigma, safety, families, pleasure, social justice, and self-discovery.

The book is fully LGBTQ-inclusive in every way, such as including a transgender boy on a page about periods. Same-sex relationships are included, as are intersex and asexual people. Reviewer Mombian says it is “arguably the most comprehensive and inclusive book on puberty to date, it deserves to be read by every young person.”

You-ology: A Puberty Guide for EVERY Body by Trish Hutchison, Kathryn Lowe, and Melisa Holmes

Published by the trusted American Academy of Pediatrics in 2022, You-ology tackles the issues of puberty in a gender-inclusive way. Using fictional characters who navigate the bodily and emotional changes tweens experience, this book leverages those examples to illustrate the information kids need to know and process about puberty. These characters include four transgender and nonbinary youth and the topics covered include pronouns and transgender-specific puberty concerns like wearing a binder to keep developing breasts flat against a chest or going on puberty-blocking medications.

Parents can feel comfortable giving this book to their younger tweens since it is purely about personal puberty changes and not about sex and intimate relationships with others. Besides acknowledging the transgender topics, the authors cover physical issues like body part development, menstruation, and acne and emotional ones like friendships, bullying, and cliques. While it doesn’t go so far as to talk about dating, it does mention crushes and while it doesn’t talk about sex, it does talk about masturbation. All of these topics are covered in gender-inclusive language.

Which of these four books might be the best for your child? Depending on which topics you want included, there is something for everyone. Whichever you choose, answering your growing tween’s questions is important and these books will help.

Editors' Recommendations

Scared social media might be hurting your teen? What you should know
How to help your teen navigate social media safely
Girl surrounded by app logos in the air

Social media seems to be a major part of the teenage years. Getting an electronic device and downloading social media apps appear to be a major rite of passage once your child is old enough to open an account and set up a profile. While this seems like the norm, you might ask yourself how social media affects relationships in your teen’s life and how safe your teen is going to be in the online environment. Read on for more information about the pros and cons of social media use and how you can help your teen to navigate through this whole new world.
How social media affects your teen’s mental health

A review published in Adolescent Research Review showed the correlation between teens’ social media usage and their overall well-being depends on a vast gamut of factors, thus proving how complicated the relationship is between adolescents and social media.

Read more
Social media for teenagers: 6 ways it can boost self-esteem (seriously!)
Social media for teens: How to channel their usage in a positive direction
Group of teens using smartphones

Social media is a powerful communication tool for teens today. There's no way to combat it. They are constantly exposed to it as they experience this crucial developmental period in their lives. And while the negative effects of social media are undeniable, cutting your child off from these online networks is like swimming against the current. A good strategy involving social media for teens is to use it as a self-esteem booster. With guidance from you, social media can have a positive effect on your kids. If you teach them how to quiet the digital noise, your teen can turn online interactions into a limitless source of personal confidence and development.

Body-positive influencers who are good role models
It’s true: Social media is filled with empty photos of retouched models with unattainable bodies. But for every brushed-up bikini shot, there are many other accounts that push a body-positive message. From influencers who post unfiltered pics to models who show the tricks of posing, it’s easy to follow accounts that keep it real.

Read more
7 early pregnancy symptoms that aren’t just your imagination
Check out these early signs of pregnancy that are often mistaken for other conditions
lady looking at a pregnancy test confused

Call it your “gut instinct” or your imagination, but you’ve been feeling rather… odd lately. Could you be pregnant? Or are you simply imagining some of the physical and mental changes that are happening? The early pregnancy symptoms that occur in the first two weeks seem so subtle that anybody can easily mistake them for another condition. To find out more information about what to expect shortly after conception, read on. You might feel reassured that these signs are not wishful thinking (or the flu) and that yes, you’re actually pregnant.

Most common early pregnancy symptoms and signs almost anyone can miss
In a poll conducted this year by the American Pregnancy Association about 1/4 of the women who participated reported a missed period and nausea as the first sign of their pregnancy. While these early signs of pregnancy are two of the most familiar, you shouldn’t be surprised if the missed period goes unnoticed, especially if you have a history of irregular cycles.

Read more